Meet billionaire Vivian Reddy: If you can dream it, you can live it....

Having been raised in the province, trips to KwaZulu-Natal are always an occasion for me - a time to catch up with old friends, meet new ones and absorb the latest news. During a visit at the end of July, I noticed a number of cranes in the centre of Umhlanga. On inquiring, a story emerged that the construction of a massive mixed use development had been stalled for so long that the corrosive effects of the sea air meant the entire structure might need to be demolished. I passed on the scuttlebutt during our July 27 episode of From The Editor’s Desk with my colleague Felicity Duncan. On Friday, at the invitation of Vivian Reddy, the central character in the R3.4bn Oceans development, I heard the real story. And got a lot more than bargained for. It provided a rare opportunity to ping tough questions at the media-shy billionaire who worked his way up from poverty to owning the largest electrical contracting business on the African continent. And from his responses, was left with the impression that the tall poppy Reddy attracts far more malignant attention - and gossip - than he deserves. To begin Reddy was justifiably testy, but the conversation improved and ended in a real highlight as you’ll hear as we close…